LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Just Leppard & Generations) Plus More Weekend Concert Previews!!

As promised, let's wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews on this Friday evening, along with addressing some new LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and a new song from one of the bands in question, so here's what you should know to end January 2025!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for the Family Day long weekend on Friday, February 14th and Saturday, February 15th! Barring an interim announcement, these will be the Jus' Chillin successors' first public shows after taking a near month-long break, and beyond the long weekend appeal, the Friday nighter does fall on Valentine's Day, which they are playing up in their own marketing. Whether you have a special someone or not, Generations' old school range of covers should prove to be a fitting soundtrack in two weeks, so don't miss out at Jay's! No word as of yet if the band (minus Valerie) will return as Thursday jam night hosts that week, but I'll let you know if something is publically said. As usual for the Korah Road nightclub, these are 9:30 PM concerts with 19+ age limits and no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details on Generations' next gigs!

Next up, Sudbury-based Def Leppard tribute band Just Leppard will make their long awaited return to Sault Ontario on Saturday, April 26th when they headline at Soo Blaster! Hair metal fans may recall seeing Just Leppard here thrice from 2019-2022, but their planned co-headlining date with Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band Saturday Night Special in November 2023 was cancelled due to "unforeseen circumstances". Rather than bring Just Leppard 3½ hours west last year, the Kuthy brothers instead played a local date under their Rush tribute guise Rust, so if you've missed their melodic and faithful take on Def Leppard's hit catalogue, come down to Soo Blaster to help send the month of April out in style! This "80's rock party" will be all ages and has an 8:00 PM start time, with tickets on sale online at this link for $25 + taxes/processing fees (this is cheaper than the cancelled 2023 show was, though that one would have had two touring bands).

The price will jump to $35 if buying at the door, but you can also buy tickets in advance at the venue. While not my favourite hair/glam metal band, Def Leppard have loads of hits that Just Leppard pay tribute to well, as evidenced by their three prior shows here, and hopefully their return after 2+ years away is a big hit this spring! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on Just Leppard's local return in three months!

Now let's wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews, and we'll start at Reggie's Place, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will return to the stage TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! These will be Greg, Alex, and Warren's first concerts after a three week break, extended thanks to the cancellation of their Sudbury gigs last week due to mandatory electrical upgrades at The Coulson Entertainment Center. Disappointing for them and their fans out east, but hopefully they book makeup dates in Sudbury soon! Tonight's show caps off a busy run of nine shows at Reggie's Place in a two month span, and it will also be their first date since releasing their third studio single "Fuck!" on January 20th, which we'll include as a preview of these shows in a second. Yes, we'll have the "Gypsy Spell" lyric video and their recent interview on The Borderline in an upcoming post, so stay tuned for all of that shortly.

This weekend's Reggie's concerts have 9:30 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits, while their infamous "Bone Yard shot" and band merchandise will also be on hand. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's their brand new song "Fuck!", courtesy of their YouTube channel! The title is well utilized in the choruses on this defiant song, which has more of a country/bluegrass structure that reminds me of something that The Billy Bastards might have put out, but it's still a hard rocker with good guitar heft and a fun solo, and it'll be a sing-along favourite in concerts. Solid enough song for fans of your local 225's southern side, so give it a listen below or on Spotify and Apple Music!

Finally for this weekend's concert previews, former Project 421/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will headline at The Dive Gastro Pub for another acoustic concert TOMORROW NIGHT! While attendees at the Joy MacMillan tribute concert at The Dive last week saw Curt there solo and with the one-off Din reunion, this will be his first solo headlining date of 2025, so if you've missed his multi-set nights of grunge and hard rock covers in "the naughty corner", then head to the former Low & Slow tomorrow for all of the action! As usual for Curtis' concerts at The Dive, this is a 9:00 PM event with no announced cover charge, and you must be 19 or older to attend. It'll be good to welcome Curt back to "home base" for a few sets of fan favourite hard rock covers, so definitely visit the above links for more details on his solo debut for the year, and here he is live a few years back!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next month! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (HeadFirst & Exit 808) And I-500 Weekend Concert Previews!!

With January coming to a close, let's wrap up the month and begin February at the same time with weekend concert previews! Due to the amount of shows this weekend, I'll hold this weekend's Bone Yard 225 and Curtis McKenzie shows for tomorrow's post. Now, here's what you should know, starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, some on SHORT NOTICE!

Sault Michigan hard rock cover band Exit 808 will return to The Merchants Bar TONIGHT as entertainment during the West Spruce Street nightclub's participation in this year's International 500 snowmobile race's annual pub crawl! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed this special Thursday nighter on their Facebook page last week. Last seen at The Merch around Halloween, this will be Exit 808's third public gig of 2025, and despite the late notice, things should be hopping TONIGHT as pub crawlers make their away to thirteen local bars and nightclubs, so if you want to participate in the action across the Soo TONIGHT, click here for more details on who and where is taking part! Thursdsy scheduling during the I-500 weekend aside, this seems to be a traditional concert, so look for more double vocalist-led hard rock covers at The Merch TONIGHT to kick off a very busy few days!

The only apparent hard rock-leaning concert during the pub crawl proper, TONIGHT'S Exit 808 show has a 21+ age limit, no cover charge, and a 9:00 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details on Exit 808's concert proper and the pub crawl TONIGHT, and for a preview, here they are live!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario briefly, as local hard rock quintet HeadFirst will reportedly return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, with returns also scheduled for Saturday, March 1st and April 12th! Again, apologies for the short notice on THIS SATURDAY's show, all three shows were only announced via the venue's Facebook page this morning, and HeadFirst themselves have not corroborated the bookings on their own social media at press time. Last seen at Shooters early last month, their show on SATURDAY will be their first local date of 2025, and third period following their trip to Sudbury earlier this month. Hopefully this proves to be a fun night of hard rocking covers and originals from this talented young group, and helps set their year off on the right foot! Remember, Shooters has hosted DJ nights on Fridays since the start of last year, so these are all one-nighters.

The Dennis Street nightclub has also teased having drink specials, "food features" (the kitchen will be open late), and promos/surprises of some kind, so keep all of that in mind on SATURDAY! These three shows are all 9:30 PM affairs with no cover charges and 19+ age limits. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's HeadFirst live!

Staying in Sault Ontario for an event that did have advance notice, here's a special charitable event going down TOMORROW NIGHT, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will headline the Alzheimer Society Sault Ste. Marie & Algoma District's 40th annual Making Memories Matter fundraiser at The Grand Gardens! Listed as a "private event" on the concert calendar on Silent 9's website, Making Memories Matter XL will see Silent 9 rocking the night away for a great cause, while attendees will also be able to take in a silent auction, cash bar, dinner, cocktails, and a "silent disco" (dancing to music played through headphones so as to not disrupt other events). This will be Silent 9's first publically attendable concert of 2025, beating their Bon Soo gig by a week, but it is a pricey one, as tickets are $60. Remember the charitable aims and all the included frills for that money though, let alone how bad Alzheimer's disease is.

This event starts no later than 5:30 PM (when cocktails are served), but Silent 9 give their start time at 9:00 PM on their website. Contact the Alzheimer's Society if you want advance ticket before tomorrow's festivities, and hopefully they and Silent 9 have a great night to help raise funds and awareness for Alzheimer's disease! See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Silent 9 live!

Finally for this post, we'll return to the aforementioned Merchants Bar in Sault Michigan, where local hard rock quartet Unfortunate Sun will round out the busy I-500 weekend with concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! While Exit 808 get the short notice honours at The Merch for TONIGHT'S pub crawl, this is obviously a very busy tourism weekend in Sault Ste. Marie, and The Merch definitely leans into it. Beyond the concerts, they're hosting the annual I-500 breakfast on Saturday morning, and I believe they will be showing the snowmobile race on TVs there if you'd rather tune in there as opposed to outdoors in the cold at the oval. The race starts at 10:00 AM and runs about eight hours, so Saturday's concert would effectively be an afterparty if you're so inclined (there are bands at Kewadin Casino too this weekend, where the closing ceremonies and awards and such are given out, but not hard rock ones). With the cancellation of their Cedarville show two weeks ago, these will be Unfortunate Sun's first shows of the year.

Hopefully the Fake Chow successors' hard rock cover attack goes over well with what should be sizeable crowds of locals and tourists alike for the I-500 weekend, so don't miss out on all of the action at The Merch! Like with Exit 808 TONIGHT, tomorrow and Saturday's shows are at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Unfortunate Sun live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Bone Yard 225 & Curtis McKenzie previews and more next! Thanks everyone!

Agnosticism - "Happy Pills" Album Review!!

It's now time for our 187th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and our first one of 2025! With no known new local metal, hard rock, or punk albums to speak of, let's dip into the archives for a second straight month, and this time, let's take a belated look at online page-less local folk punk/emo solo project Agnosticism's debut album "Happy Pills"! Independently released to major streaming services on October 6th, 2022 (I don't believe it had physical CD pressings), this is the only full-length album to date from Agnosticism, though they have released a handful of EPs since. This acoustic project is led by Hails/Vanity First guitarist, Apocalypse Afterparty bassist, and local concert promoter Mikhal Muto, with "Vanity Official" being their given label imprint where stated on streaming sites. For the record, this album was picked to review this month as a tie-in with Mikhal's concert with Ha!ls at The Distraction earlier this month.

You can find "Happy Pills" on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and various smaller streaming services, but curiously, not on Amazon Music. If you want to actually buy the album in mp3 format, you can buy it on iTunes for $9.99, so consider doing just that to support Mikhal's music! Also, while I'll capitalize the song names here, note that Mikhal spelled them all in just lowercase. With 11 songs + a bonus demo version of one of them running for about 35 minutes, let's begin another year of local album reviews!

Song #1 on offer is "I'm Sorry", which has a slower and more intricate opening before Mikhal speeds up his playing, if at a bit of a repetitive clip at first. This regretful number picks up moreso after the first verse when he sings at full voice, unleashing his distinctive pop punk/emo tone of voice, but the use of layering two vocal tracks together on one verse really doesn't work for an acoustic singer/songwriter composition. The song doesn't subscribe to a "verse chorus verse" structure, so there's a lot to take in, and it's well written, but maybe a little scattershot as a composition. Good and effective opener despite the dual vocal part! Next is "Something About Anarchism", which is bookended with background noise with birds chirping. Mikhal alternates moods well between soft singing and intense screaming, and given that it is definitely very driven by its title, the passion and message is clear as day.

He is really straining his voice to hit higher notes on the sung verses, and it ends kinda abruptly after the last chorus (birds in the outro acknowledged), but it is a better and more intense song that punk-leaning fans will take to more than the opener! Third on the album is "It Gets Better", whose title doesn't necessarily reflect on the album's progression. A simpler and relatively shorter song, it probably has Mikhal's best guitar work on the album so far, and his emotive pleas fit well, especially late, but his usage of a backing vocal track again doesn't really feel all that necessary. Good song for folk punk fans though! Then we have "Boys Will Be Boys", a pro-feminism number that is the most reserved and laid back song on the first third of "Happy Pills", and the least "punk" of them, shouted "gang vocal" outro aside. Again, I'm not huge on the layering of doubled up backing vocals, but it's a fine folk number while it lasts, and has a good message!

Fifth is the album's longest song "I'd Probably Kill Myself If I Had The Motivation", which brings the punk influence back with more of a structure that you'd hear from a plugged-in band (imagine if one of Mikhal's bands tackled this), and he uses his well controlled punk snarl to good effect! More strong lyrics here, accentuating solid guitar playing and some good aggressive vocal work, so if you're into the "punk" side of "folk punk" like me, this will be a clear highlight on side one of the album! Next is "40oz Of Fuck You" (he titled it, not me), which is a brisk and lively number that I can seen being a sing-along track live if fans learn the words! Definitely the angriest vocals that he has deployed so far, and the song ends with a full-on hardcore punk verse (if still unplugged), which helps make this another highlight, though I do wish that he laid out more of his issues in the song!

Seventh on "Happy Pills" is "Out Of My Mind", which is the shortest song here, at just 1:45 in length. Another intense number, this is well paced and has a good folk punk vibe, though it doesn't really break out with a really intense or angry stretch, and given how short it is, it does feel somewhat unfinished. Solid for fans, but in an album with 12 songs, it doesn't really stand out. Afterwards, you'll hear "Unholy Matrihomie", which has lighter and more carefree guitar strumming that feels more "coffee shop-esque", if that's fair, but the vocals still have that nasal pop punk twang and a direct, matter of fact delivery. The layered backing vocals return in the closing verse, which still don't really work for me, but this is an effective enough lighter folk punk song with some fun lyrics, and while I like the more in-your-face songs from Agnosticism, this does what it sets out to do!

The album continues with "Null", which has some good personal lyrics about the future and a nice extended acoustic punk verse that lets him really let loose, almost at bluegrass levels by the end, but it gets a little messy by the end, and the vocal track layering doesn't help. Really, I liked the first half of this song for its lyrics and intensity, but it kinda lost its way as it went along. Song #10 is "Beggars", which is possibly the most "standard" song on the album, in that it really doesn't feel like a punk song aside from some of his screaming at the end. It just feels like a mid-tempo acoustic rock number, and it's not badly written and feels kinda grandiose at points. Good change of pace, and it builds well, but if you prefer his normal folk punk attack, this may not be the song for you. The final unique song here is the title track "Happy Pills", which is largely a delicate guitar composition.

This really shows off what Mikhal can do as a pure guitarist, and I thought it was going to be an instrumental until the last 45 seconds, when he plays off what a doctor is prescribing him in a way that is very reminiscent of the last verse of Suicidal Tendencies' "Institutionalized", but without the chorus to let loose with. There's good ideas here but it feels like two promising but incomplete song ideas smushed together. The album closes with a demo version of "I'd Probably Kill Myself If I Had The Motivation", which is largely the same song, but with lower recording quality and a spoken word introduction and (self-deprecating) interlude. Overall, it is a rawer version, but it has more of an honest underground feel, so I kinda like it better than the original, especially for leaning into the folk punk side of things! I wonder if he has similar demo versions of the other songs?

So, what are my final thoughts on Agnosticism's full-length album? I do prefer it to his 2024 EP "A Letter Of Resignation" for the most part, and folk punk fans will get a kick out of it! Like on his newest release, he suits intense, freewheeling acoustic punk better than on laid back ballad material, especially thanks to his tone of voice, and you tend to get more of that here while still stretching his legs to do some different styles. Production wise, I can definitely tell that he put more work into making "Happy Pills" sound like a proper studio album, as it sounds cleaner as a rule than "A Letter Of Resignation", but my big qualm with the full-length is Mikhal's usage of layered backing vocals on some songs. They really don't fit for a solo acoustic album and I am glad with hindsight that he didn't use them on last year's EP. On songs like "I'd Probably Kill Myself If I Had The Motivation" and "Unholy Matrihomie", you'll get a solid balance of his influences and styles!

I prefer my punk to be plugged in with a full band, and Mikhal definitely has that in spades right now, but if you like a raw, personal, and anarchic brand of unplugged emo-influenced punk, Agnosticism delivered that, and this album would be a good starting point before exploring their EPs! Give "Happy Pills" a listen at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's album review! As for what our album for next month will be, I really don't know at this juncture. Our new album backlog is clear, so if nothing brand new comes out, we'll likely dip into the archives again, with preference being with local musicians who play live at some point in February 2025. In the event that they have a quick turn-around for new albums, next month's review will not be of an Agnosticism or Sykotyk Rampage release due to our 6 month anti-bias buffer period, though Agnosticism is eligible again as early as July.

In any event, stay tuned for our next album review in February, and for this weekend's hard rock concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (HeadFirst, Silent 9, And Headrush!!)

On this blustery Monday night, let's devote it to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the months ahead, including for a popular nightclub's upcoming schedule and a big booking for a prominent act, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will headline the opening night concert at this year's Bon Soo Winter Carnival on Friday, February 7th! This booking was announced on the band's Facebook page yesterday, and marks their return to The Machine Shop, a venue that they've played multiple times as both openers for touring acts and for private functions. The official program also lists this concert, among multiple other family events at the Canal District and downtown for Sault Ste. Marie's annual winter carnival, though I don't believe any of the other Bon Soo-linked concerts fit the SMS' coverage. Silent 9's concert caps off a busy first day for this year's Bon Soo, so definitely read on there to find out what all is going on on day #1 for the opening ceremonies and beyond! This all ages concert takes place from 8:00-10:00 PM, and admission is free with your $12 Bon Soo button or $8 jacket tag. See above for more details!

Next up, the early 2025 band schedule for The Esquire Club was (re-)posted on their Facebook page yesterday! The Second Line West nightclub had previously posted a schedule that was quickly taken down and amended (it's mostly similar but I did notice that the now-defunct Soundcheck were listed for a weekend in the spring on that version). Like in recent years, the schedule stops at the end of June, with the venue taking a two month break from live bands in the summer before picking things back up in September, so aside from this month's mostly-concluded slate, who is coming to The Esquire Club in the first half of the year among hard rock-leaning acts?

First up is local hard rock quintet HeadFirst, who will play their first local dates of 2025 on Friday, February 14th & Saturday, February 15th! This talented young group have not corroborated these bookings yet on social media, but they just played their first ever Sudbury gigs at The Coulson Entertainment Center over a week ago, which has hosted Bone Yard 225 on multiple occasions in the 2020s, and despite teasing working on stuff behind the scenes otherwise to start the year, they have hinted at more dates to be announced. As it turns out, HeadFirst (who last played at The Esquire Club in mid-December) drew both the Family Day long weekend and, in the case of the Friday nighter, Valentine's Day for scheduling, so keep both angles in mind if you're coming out for either gig next month! You can enjoy their hard rocking originals and covers next month at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details on HeadFirst's upcoming activity!

Next among SMS-amenable acts is the aforementioned Silent 9, who will return to The Esquire Club for their first times this year on March 21st & 22nd before returning on May 9th & 10th! If you have missed seeing Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve's fan-friendly blend of classic and hard rock covers in a normal nightclub setting, you'll want to keep both of these spring weekends in mind, especially given the gap since they last rocked The Esquire Club just after Halloween! Speaking of which, neither of these 2025 weekend bookings fall on holidays (the former gigs are after St. Patrick's Day and well before Easter, and the latter are a week out from the Victoria Day long weekend). Like with HeadFirst above, expect these shows to be 19+ affairs with no announced cover charges and 9:30 PM start times. Visit the above links for much more on Silent 9's 2025 schedule, and look for them after Bon Soo's opening ceremonies next Friday!

Lastly for now, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush (not to be confused with the aforementioned HeadFirst) will keep the good times going on Second Line West when they return to The Esquire Club on March 28th-29th and then on May 30th-31st! This skilled 1980s-centric group played their first shows of 2025 here just this past weekend, and while a different Head____ band will be there next month, fans of Headrush will get their fill later this spring, when the snow should be gone to boot! No word yet on if we'll see them elsewhere before late March, but neither of these weekends falls on a Canadian holiday either. As with the shows above, expect Headrush to take the stage at 9:30 PM on both nights with no announced cover charge, and you must be 19 or older to attend. For more details on Headrush's upcoming gigs, visit the above links!

Other existing bands on the early 2025 schedule are not hard rock-leaning that I am aware of, but I do want to point out that new local rock cover band Separate Wayz (scheduled for weekends in April and May) appears to be the new band from former Soundcheck bandmates Terry Eaton and Jim Michaud, alongside Terry's old Mourning Wood/Soundcheck bandmate Steven Flint, but we await full details on their sound and lineup. Click here for more on them as it's announced! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site shortly! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Agnosticism - Topic

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series returns to kick off a new year with another look at a randomly selected YouTube channel whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk musicians/concerts, and as luck would have it, we drew an auto-generated YouTube Music channel for a second straight month! Incidentally, this act in question has become this year's first monthly album review pick due to Ha!ls' concert earlier this month, in order to tie in an archival review with a recent concert. Here's what you should know!

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Agnosticism - Topic  (http://youtube.com/channel/UC7Lm8kLNksj62-bk0TnsR3w)

Owner: If anyone, Agnosticism frontman Mikhal Muto, though the channel is auto-generated to facilitate the project's catalogue being available on YouTube Music

Channel Timeline: Launched on August 7th, 2022; Videos uploaded from two days later through July 2024

Channel Summary: This channel exists as the home of Hails/Vanity First guitarist & Apocalypse Afterparty bassist Mikhal Muto's folk punk/emo solo project Agnosticism's studio material for YouTube Music streaming purposes, though the songs can be experienced on regular YouTube as normal videos as well. The project's full-length album "Happy Pills" is streamable on YouTube Music, as well as two of their EPs (one being last year's "A Letter Of Resignation"), their most recent standalone single, and three single postings of songs from other releases.

Why You Should Watch: If you want to hear Agnosticism's studio back catalogue, this is a good (if not comprehensive) way to do it, though note that other major streaming services also have these same songs, so pick and choose based on your own preferences for layout, content, and subscription models. Some services, most notably Apple Music, have exclusive content, though not everything there is available for sale, just streaming. Of course, Mikhal does run a standard YouTube channel for Agnosticism, which features "Happy Pills" as well as some standalone uploads and two free EPs not on all streaming services ("Chaotic & Dysfunctional" and "Eat Shit & Die"), which both notably feature songs later taken on by Vanity First, so don't bypass that channel either.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

i'd probably kill myself if i had the motivation: This a slight teaser for our first album review of 2025, which hits the site later this week, but Agnosticism's first album released for sale on iTunes (not just to hear for free) is their September 2022 full length album "Happy Pills". Normally, I would highlight a song that I like the most in this sort of situation, but to avoid skewing my thoughts of the album in advance of my review listen, I'll instead point you to "I'd Probably Kill Myself If I Had The Motivation", a long and emotive song that lets Mikhal spread his wings as an acoustic singer/songwriter. A demo version of this song was included at the end of this album as well. For more in-depth thoughts on "Happy Pills", look for my review of the whole album on the site by Friday!

Song 3: Surprisingly, the most popular Agnosticism song on their YouTube Music channel is the basically untitled "Song 3" from their November 2022 EP "4 Hours", released less than two months after "Happy Pills" (it will be eligible for an album review on the SMS no sooner than July due to my self-imposed 6 month buffer period between reviews of the same project's albums to avoid potentially showing a bias). This spare and short song escalates well with self deprecating jabs at Mikhal's solo music and song lengths, so keep that in mind as an example of his range as a lyricist, even if it can be a little too quick to make out all of the words at points!

Light Pollution: Bypassing me at the time due to (in part) Agnosticism's lack of a true social media page beyond Instagram, their most recent original song on streaming services is "Light Pollution", quietly released on July 9th of last year, with no sign yet of it being part of a new album or EP. Curiously marketed with a picture of Mikhal under a "Happy New Year" banner despite being released 5 months prior to January 1st, this song has a folksier yet fuller structure while still harbouring his distinctive emo/pop punk-inflected vocals, and while I like my Agnosticism to be more intense than this, it's good to hear some new material from Mikhal's acoustic act, and here's hoping for more from them in 2025!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series' second installment of the year will come on or around February 26th, with next month's randomly selected channel finally giving us some actual video content (that moves), namely YouTube user CrazyCarLover1990's channel, featuring 14 videos of Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide live in the early 2010s! Look for that then, and for more news and notes (plus our "Happy Pills" review) this week! Thanks everyone!

One More Weekend Concert Preview, Plus A New Spades GT Interview Video!!

In this post, we're wrapping up this weekend's concert previews with a special event featuring a band reunion, but the rest of this post references one of the performers' current group, so here's what you should know!

Here's one more weekend concert preview for TONIGHT, as a bunch of familiar faces will join forces at The Dive Gastro Pub! Advertised by the venue as the "jam night for Joy" (the Facebook event page treats it as a normal concert), this special event is the culmination of today's celebration of life for Joy MacMillan, the late mother of Spades GT/ex-Haggith guitarist Daniel Horton, whose support was clear and instrumental throughout her son's local band work in the 2010s, as his friends and bandmates will be well aware of. Joy passed away in late November, but after a GoFundMe campaign, her celebration of life proper takes place today at the Holiday Inn Express (the former Days Inn) from 2:00-6:00 PM, but the concert portion takes place at around 9:00 PM with an advertised reunion of Mike Haggith & The Din, albeit their 2013-2014 acid jam/improv incarnation featuring Daniel alongside Mike & Curtis McKenzie.

It will be nice to see 3/4ths of the core Haggith lineup back for a night, albeit under sad circumstances, and hopefully they recapture early Din sets well in Joy's memory! Curt will also play a solo set tonight (presaging his full solo gig there next week), while Dan's former Jack Spades bandmate Rob Speers will also bring his acoustic solo act there tonight, fresh off playing at The Dive on Thursday. This special 19+ concert has no advertised cover charge, as well as refreshments and a cash bar, though seating will be limited. Visit the above links for more on what should be a special night for Daniel and his family, here's the original Din live, and R.I.P. Joy!

Next up, let's pivot to Daniel's current work in Spades GT, so what are the local/Barrie crossover thrash band up to this year/month so far? You can find out some of that info here, as drummer Tyler Reiner took part in with the Niagara Falls-based music promotion company Sofa City Sounds on January 2nd! This was streamed on Sofa City Sounds' Facebook page, and ignore that the video description says that the interview was with Black Absinthe, they labelled the wrong group. If Sofa City sounds familiar, it's because Tyler and frontman J.D. Pearce were interviewed by owner/host Amanda Schilz (and her son!) back in December 2023, and you can watch that 48 minute video at this link. A year+ later, Tyler flew solo for this remote interview, which starts with Amanda reminiscing on the first time that she saw Spades live and other related topics. We next get hype for Spades GT's first concert of 2025, which saw them play at Walterstock III.

Two days after this interview was posted, Spades joined twenty-three other bands to pay tribute to beloved GTA metalhead Walter Froebrich at The Rockpile in Toronto once again, and this discussion leads to some good personal discussion about connectivity and personal interactions among the metal community there, plus coming and going into music and awareness of it, and having the drive and passion to get your name out there and also support other local-to-you bands. Eventually, Tyler does bring up the band's eventful 2024 and plans to return to the studio next month to record their next studio album, as well as plugging some of the band's radio airplay in Southern Ontario last year, while also opening the floodgates to promoters to book them in 2025, especially in markets that they haven't played at before. Following some more Walterstock promotion, Tyler plugs what they have for sale and what they hope to have to sell soon, especially the new CD.

The band's lineup is credited about 52 minutes into the interview, with the bassist search still ongoing at the time, and J.D. was supposed to take part in this year's Sofa City Sounds interview too but couldn't due to commitments with his day job. Most of the rest of the interview is casual conversation and reiterating 2025 plans for Spades GT, but Tyler does reference how he's not the first drummer of the band, crediting their beginnings in the Soo as Jack Spades in the 2010s, and how appreciative he is to be brought into the fold. While Amanda's son didn't help in the interview this time (though pets stopped by on both ends), this was another fun interview for Spades fans! Most of it was admittedly just Tyler and Amanda talking about the scene at large and personal experiences, and not a lot of ground is covered that fans didn't already know from 2024 postings and interviews, but it's a solid and laid back watch that you can check out below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906, Double Down, And Headrush), And Weekend Concert Previews!!

Another wave of weekend concert previews is upon us, and most of this post is comprised of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS as a result! Due to the amount, Saturday night's Mike Haggith & The Din-headldined Joy MacMillan tribute concert at The Dive will be previewed in tomorrow's post. Here's what you should know on this Thursday night!

Local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will return to The Esquire Club for their first concerts of 2025 TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, bassist John Amendola only announced the shows via the official Facebook event page on Tuesday. This newer veteran group were last seen at The Esquire Club ("their favourite bar", if you believe the venue's Facebook page) just under a month ago, so it'll be good to see the Johns, Wes, and crew back on Second Line West for another weekend of 1980s-leaning rock covers! No major frills or themes to note, just two nights of old school rock hits, so don't miss out on all of the action from Headrush (not HeadFirst) TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY NIGHT! As usual, expect 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges both nights. See above for more details, and here's Headrush live!

Next up, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT themselves! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via their Facebook page on Monday, and we await any sort of concert calendar for upcoming dates like they were posting every so often last year. These will be Double Down's second and third shows of the year, last having played at Jay's back in November, so if you've missed seeing the Syrettes, Brad, and Ric in the west end, you'll get your fill of classic and hard rock cover action by doubling down with Double Down TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY! For the record, Tex Riviera & The Ride hosted the Thursday jam night there tonight (I don't believe Double Down has ever hosted one of those). TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S concerts are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Double Down live!

Also, let's head across the International Bridge for the return of Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quartet Project 906, who will play their first show of the year THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at The Strongs Tavern in nearby Eckerman! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show via their Facebook page on Monday (the venue has not corroborated the booking on social media at press time). While Project 906 haven't been seen at The Strongs Tavern since September, they actually have played one public concert since that I profusely apologize for missing on the SMS, as they returned to Brimley on November 9th to headline the Brimley Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 9023's annual Veteran's Day ATV ride for a second straight year. This was publically advertised and attendable (here was its Facebook event page), and I do apologize again for missing this concert last fall, especially given the aims of the event, but I hope the veterans, riders, and Project 906 had a great time at the ride in November!

SATURDAY'S Strongs concert appears to be regular fare for the guys as they kick off 2025, though I don't know if their choice of picture in the post announcing this show (from a gig featuring guest hand drummer Brian Duford) is a hint as to who will be playing here or if it was just the picture that they chose to use. Everything goes down on SATURDAY NIGHT at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. See above for more details, apologies again for missing the Brimley show in November, and here's Project 906 live!

Finally for this preview post, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for local acoustic classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's return to Misty's Fifties for another matinee concert on SATURDAY! Previously announced on Monday the 13th, this will be Tym's third straight Saturday matinee gig at Misty's and fourth out of the past five Saturdays, so whether this is a revival of his weekly arrangement or not, fans of his skilled and prolific slate of rock covers will want to head to the west end in a couple of days to check everything out! Fans can see the former Caveman Morrison and Nostalgic Band frontman on Saturday at 4:00 PM with no announced cover charge and a presumed 19+ age limit. If you want a more relaxed brand of acoustic classic and hard rock hits from this talented local mainstay, head to Second Line West for all of the action on Saturday! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the Mike Haggith & The Din reunion/tribute concert preview and more next! Thanks everyone!